The Hound of the Baskervilles

This was a well done version of one of the most favorite of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tales. This version showcases an excellent cast, terrific costumes, and one of the best Edwardian locations yet. Other than Jeremy Brett's portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, which is the best ever, Mr. Roxburgh was a very believable detective. While Richard Roxburgh is a really good Holmes, Ian Hart is outstanding as Dr. Watson. He plays Watson as an intelligent, loyal, and very human but capable doctor. Ian Hart brought a fuller dimension to the Dr. Watson character to this Hound of the Baskervilles that many other version have not. I also liked Matt Day as Sir. Henry Baskerville. His youth helped make his character more believable than others who have played this roll. Richard E. Grant was a diabolical Stapleton and feelings I had toward him as the "bad guy" attest to his great acting ability, as I loved him as the Scarlet Pimpernel! The only disappointment was the very few moments when the computer animated 'hound' was on screen. When the hound was chasing Baskerville, it was terrifying but as the animal got close up and I could see it was turned into a computer animated composite of several animals, terror turned to unbelief! All in all it was one of the best versions so far and I enjoyed it very much. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys not only a good detective story but somewhat of a horror story too.

When Lord Baskerville is killed by a mysterious hound, the local doctor covers it up as a heart attack and lies about the wounds. However he goes to Baker Street detective Sherlock Holmes with the truth and asks for his help. Holmes dispatches Watson to protect Baskerville's relative, newly arrived from America while he attempts to uncover more.

Christmas TV schedules are full of one-off dramas usually with stars who have done well in America but have returned to keep their face about or actors who don't often do television series. This version of a classic story was one such example. As is often the case with such things, it is a good production and moves the story along at a good pace. The hound itself is best seen in shadows and quick edits as it isn't that scary but the film still manages to have a sense of urgency to it.

Roxburgh's Holmes is suitably cheerful and feels outside of the murders, like he is enjoying the mystery of the whole thing. Hart tries hard with Watson and avoids the usual trap of playing him like a fool of sorts beside Holmes. Here he is central to the story and is onscreen a lot, but Hart makes him quite sour and colourless and he emerges as quite a pale character. Support was billed as `all-star' and I suppose it is in a way. All present themselves well and people like Grant, Tarbuck (!), Nettles and Cook are interesting additions.

Overall this is a fast paced and enjoyable version of the classic tale and is easy to enjoy. Hart dominates the middle section of the film which drags it down a little due to his lifeless Watson but generally the film is well worth a watch no matter how many times you've seen it told.

As much as I am a fan of the earlier versions of Sherlock Holmes, I am thrilled to see it done with modern actors and with modern sets.

Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge!, Mission: Impossible II, Van Helsing) makes for a great Holmes, and Ian Hart (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) a great Dr. Watson. One can only hope to see more of both of them in these roles.

While we all know the story, it is not spoiled by a retelling, especially with such fine actors.

The scenery is vastly improved in this version, and the hound is very ferocious looking to boot.

Call me crazy, but when you're adapting one of the longest Sherlock Holmes stories -- in under two hours -- there's little room to go off on tangents that aren't present in the original plot, much less omit major plot development.

Comment guidelines forbid discussing plot details, which makes it impossible to discuss how egregiously the story has been warped. In brief: the wrong person ends up in quicksand, no one should be hanged, only one person should be gnawed by any kind of animal, there's no seance or pantomime, and the Hound effects are embarrassing.

This version of The Hound of the Baskervilles also has a Holmes who drugs himself during his cases, when, presumably, he would need to concentrate. Need I point out that Holmes used drugs between cases, when he was bored, not while he was working?

On the bright side, Richard Grant was excellent as Jack Stapleton. I only wish the script were equal to his performance.

As a fan of the Novel, and all of Doyle's Holmes stories I was initially put off by the casting of a blonde Aussie as Sherlock. And I still feel that the characters would have been closer to Doyle's original descriptions had Roxburgh and Richard E. Grant switched roles. But, having said that, I found this treatment of the novel highly entertaining, and a lot of fun. The differences from the novel served to seperate it from the book, and give me a good bit of TV that stands on it's own, as it's own story. Holmes in an alternate reality for those of you out there that follow Science Fiction, if you will. And Hart did a masterful job as Dr. John H. Watson. What was my most lasting impression of this movie ? That Richard Roxburgh, though not in his element as Holmes, gave his all. And the way he played Holmes made me think... maybe Roxburgh is the best candidate to take over the role of Doctor Who when the series returns in 2005...